


Time Out

by DeansP1e



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: IMO, Other, as proven by science, because horseshoe is the best camp, nature is calming, takes place in chapter 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-12-26 02:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18273728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeansP1e/pseuds/DeansP1e
Summary: arthur morgan out in the wilderness and relaxing for once in his life, and it's set during chapter 2. (also this was inspired by A Moment's Peace by Ithika. go check it out, it's really well written.) i should probably be working on The Adventures of Arthur Morgan, but i have no idea what to write.





	Time Out

Now, Arthur Morgan was not one to lay down and set his feet up, as there are things need doing and people need feeding, but of course, Dutch just had to order him - it's been a long time since  _that_ has happened - to take a ride to relax _for_ _once in your life, son_. That was two days ago, the ride taking an unexpectedly long time because of O'Driscolls. So now, here he is, riding to Cumberland Forest when he could be robbing someone, or stealing precious valuables, or holding up the bank, or-or-or... Was nature always this pretty? Arthur couldn't help the awed look on his face as he rode, the sounds around him slowly calming him down. It has been a while since he was calm that the moment his muscles relaxed, he didn't know what it was at first. He came to a stop in a clearing, dismounting and setting to remove the saddle. The work, at least, gave him something to do, his mind going blank at the repetitiveness of said work, having done it many times before.

Once he was done with that, Arthur left his horse to graze while he set up his tent. His mind went back to 1877, back to when it was just Dutch, Hosea, Miss Grimshaw and him, the original guard. He remembers one late summer night when he was first introduced to this lifestyle, and when Dutch wasn't so caught up in his dream of Tahiti. He remembers setting up a camp at Tall Trees, it being temporary as they would be moving west to California soon, and Hosea had a woman on his arm, Arthur remembers her as Bessie, the two of them sharing intimate looks as they sat wrapped in each other's arms. That, of course, left the work to him and Dutch, which he didn't mind, because he, at the time, didn't know whether he would be kicked out or not. Looking back now, he thought it foolish that he would think so. Of course, he thought he was foolish himself, so no surprise there.

He started setting up the campfire, gathering twigs and fallen branches for it. He thinks back to another time, now in 1885, and this time, they have a new member, little Johnny Marston, all hot to trot and quick to prove himself. Oh yes, lil John was even more hot-headed back then, to no one's surprise, yet Dutch saw something in him. It was around this time that the four of them were scoping out a rich man's house in California, all laying on their stomachs on a hillside off to the east of the said house. John was twitching a little, altogether too eager to prove himself, Hosea had a hand on his back in an effort to calm the poor boy, Dutch was commenting on the yard, and Arthur was watching a woman undress, too much like a stalker. That was the first time Arthur had his brain turn to mush, Dutch trying to get his attention and then laughing when he noticed what he was looking at. Not even a moment later, Hosea scolded him on getting distracted and John started laying into him. Even though that was a thing that happened, the job went well the day after, mostly because the couple who lived there had to go to New York, or somewhere, as their informant told them. During the robbery, Arthur taught John how to sneak around without heavy feet and how to knock someone out in one hit, as there were a couple of guards. Dutch and Hosea had gone somewhere else in the house, presumably to steal a drink, because they had come back tipsy.

The heat from the fire warmed his bones, his slightly arthritic hands relaxing with a sigh from his mouth. That was a problem with this life, you can't do it for long without pain in either your hands, knees or back. He understood now why Uncle complained about his back, but he still didn't understand why he didn't just put up with it like Arthur himself did. This reminds him of a time in 1887, when Hosea first started complaining about his knees in the mountains of Wyoming, and back when it was just ten of them: Dutch, Hosea; Arthur, John; Susan, Bessie; Annabelle, Simon; Sean and Orville. At the time, Arthur didn't worry about it, because he knew that Hosea could shake it off. Hosea hadn't shaken it off, and one morning, when he started to get up for coffee, he fell down with a cry of pain. Dutch and Arthur found him whimpering and holding his knees on the floor, the former immediately going to his side and the latter going to Simon's tent for medicine. Bessie had followed him, and so had Annabelle, the two women who were like mothers to him gasping when they saw Hosea on the floor.

By now the sun has set, so he set about returning the saddle to Storm's back, mounting after he did so. The ride back was pretty uneventful, except for one man on foot trying to rob him with a knife, Arthur giving him a look that said ' _are you insane or stupid_ '. The man immediately fled the scene, probably pissed his pants too, judging by the smell after The Look™. As soon as he rode into camp, antagonizing the guard, Sean, as he did, he heard Dutch walking towards him while he dismounted and set about taking the saddle and bridle off Storm.

"Are you relaxed now, son?" Dutch asked, leaning against one of the wagons.

"Well, I got to thinking," Arthur started with a short groan as he lifted the saddle.

"Uh oh," Dutch replied with a smile.

"Shut up. Anyway, I got to thinking about old times, about how we was in Tall Trees and that robbery of that rich guy in '85 and Wyoming." He set down the saddle on the ground, getting to work on the bridle.

"Oh yes, I remember." Dutch nodded, his smile softening.

"Those were the good ol' days," he said while he laid the bridle down on a box next to the saddle, walking up to Dutch after.

Dutch nodded, putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. Arthur raised a brow, the older man shrugged in response. Dutch pulled his hand away, the two outlaws getting deja vu from the action.

"Anyways, John mentioned the bank has an oil field payroll, you should go talk to him," Dutch suggested.

"Sure," Arthur responded. He left his father-figure to go to his brother, or rather, to go find him. He waved to Hosea, continued walking forward a bit, then stopped. Arthur turned and went back to Hosea.

"You forget something, Arthur?" Hosea asked, brow furrowing a little in confused amusement.

"Yeah, little Johnny. Where is he?"

Hosea nodded, "He's over by the cliff, why?"

"Dutch wanted me to talk to him," Arthur replied flatly.

"Ah. Well, I won't bother you then."

Arthur tipped his hat in thanks and went to the cliff, seeing his sort-of brother standing and looking up.

"What you hoping to find, your smarts?" Arthur greeted, which startled the poor man, with a smirk.

John turned around with a glare. "I'm looking for where I asked for your opinion."

Arthur contorted his face in fake shock. "Where'd you learn to speak like that, boy?"

"I'm only ten years younger than you, I ain't a boy."

Arthur chuckled, shaking his head with a smile and opening his arms. "C'mere."

John laughed and hurried over to his brother, and wrapped his arms around him, the tension from the last few days melting from him. Arthur patted John's back, asking him all the while how he's been, what's happened since he was gone, and how Jack and Abigail been.

John stepped away after a moment, a smile on his face.

"So, what was this about the bank having an oil field payroll?" Arthur asked.

The smile fell down, John's brow furrowing for a moment and then raising in remembrance.

"Oh yeah, you know the oil field east of Valentine?"

"Sure, been there enough."

"Apparently, some rich oil tycoon is sending money to that specific oil field and it's stopping at the bank for a while."

"You know, John," Arthur smirked, "this might be one of your smarter ideas yet."

"Let me guess, wolves?" John asked flatly.

"See, you ain't so dumb after all."

\------

(later, when Arthur has passed and John has moved on, he watches John and realizes that this life after death thing ain't so bad after all.)


End file.
